Blog Posts

A friend in San Paulo and I spoke the other day so he could update me on the situation in Brazil since the two American Legacy pilots were released in December, especially since it seems that many have relegated the problem there to the “situa…

By now, everyone is actually glad the Delta/US Airways merger thing is off because we were all getting sick of listening to the two CEOs fight to be on top.They should have tried that arm-wrestling technique Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher used in…

In case you missed it, the FAA Administrator gave a speech at the National Press Club last week to usher in the new age of “Since all the other countries in the world allow pilots over 60 to fly, we might as well too.”Blakey took questio…

The infectious excitement surrounding the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring Florida last month made it pretty clear that the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) movement offers a far different air show experience than Air Venture, or Sun & Fun or most …

People often wonder if I’m a pilot first or a journalist and for the life of me, I’m never quite sure. Answering “both” never seems to be quite enough for anyone though and yet at times each seems just as significant an influ…

Time for a quick follow up to yesterday’s post. Call this one “How to Make Customers Even More Angry the Second Time Around.”I related some of my nightmarish e-mail marketing experiences with a company called Western Aviation and …

One of the major reasons small, service and product businesses join trade associations like the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) or the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) is to finagle their way in front of potential custome…

Another blogger and I were waxing poetic on why anyone in their right mind would spend the time it takes build a well-organized, visually-appealing aviation blog – or any blog – much less squander the extra time it takes to develop conte…

I criss crossed the U.S. a few times this week on business. Since I don’t fly professionaly anymore, that meant a seat in the back where I had to rely on the cockpit and cabin crew for the scoop on our progress, information I normally take wit…

It’s late Friday, the end of a second truly exciting day at Sebring Florida Airport, site of the U.S. Sport Aviation Association Expo. If you’re not familiar with this event, it looks very much to me like the future of learning to fly.…

I just learned that an old friend passed away recently. His name was William K. Kershner, an author and a pilot. Most of all Bill Kershner was a superb teacher, a job for which I have the ultimate respect.While I didn’t actually know Mr. Kers…

Comair was the first U.S. regional airline to clearly draw a marketing line in the stand by ordering hundreds of Bombardier CRJs 15 years ago. Industry experts called Comair’s management team fools. No one could run a profitable carrier with 5…

OK, so maybe I am too curmudgeonly at times. I’ve decided it’s time to remember that flying is still fun, so right after New Years I’m headed to Sebring Regional Airport in Florida for the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo, the new annual t…

The Comair Master Executive Council drew a line in the sand this week over a bankruptcy court’s approval to toss the pilot’s working agreement in the trash. If Comair management does throw out the contract, the pilots have promised a str…

Some of you have been reading this blog for awhile and I thank you for that. Let me tell you right now that I’m about to contradict myself. It’s probably not the first nor last time for that, but it’s not the end of the world eithe…

Although there are plenty of skeptics who still think blogs, podcasts and Word of Mouth advertising are a huge waste of time, these new communications tactics are changing the way people think and at a rate faster than almost anyone can keep up with…

I’m finishing up a new McGraw Hill book, a Professional Pilot Career Guide. The workload is heavy, but the research has been eye-opening, especially in light of the changes to the aviation industry since 9/11.The good news is that job opportu…

The aircraft carrying U.S. pilots Joe LePore and Jan Paladino has left Brazilian airspace on its way back to the states. Welcome back guys.

Sources say Joe LePore and Jan Paladino have been moved from Rio in order to meet with federal police officials in Sao Paulo Friday and reportedly to avoid the media. They are expected to leave Sao Paulo on a flight back to New York later in the day…

People say pilots have no patience. That’s not really true. We just don’t have much … especially for people who seem to miss the obvious.On another forum yesterday, someone asked whether anyone knew of problems before their compan…

The G1 news website in Brazil posted an interview with the air traffic controller who was on duty when the Embraer Legacy and the Gol Airline Boeing 737 collided in late September.While I will post more of this later, I think the controller’s…

In the past few weeks, almost every aviation organization in the United States has asked the Brazilian government to let Joe LePore and Jan Paladino come home. The two U.S. pilots have been detained in Brazil for 64 days since the midair collision i…

As I look back at nearly two months of captivity for the two Excelaire Legacy pilots in Brazil, I’m beginning to feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland when she said, “Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser.”  Certainly tha…

Convincing the Fox Network News people to give me five minutes of air time this past Thanksgiving Day to talk about Jan and Joe was a good beginning. And for that, they have my thanks. While I do wish we’d focused a bit less on the accident a…